They allow us to have children

Alison's Day As a Counting Book

1 nap
2 baths
3 poopy outfits
4 bottles
5 dumped toy buckets
6 trimmed fingernails
7 diaper changes
8 gritting teeth
9 stories
10 whiny fits

This was not a normal day.

Belated 10 Months Post

I still can’t believe how quickly time goes by. Alison continues to amaze us and is really starting to show off in the mobility department. She not only pulls up on everything, and walks along the furniture and windowsill but now she holds on with one hand! I think she’ll be walking by April. But who knows, a couple falls on the hard wood could set her back. And plus it might be difficult to walk with such a high center of gravity. In other words it might be hard to balance with that gigantic noggin of hers.

She is also practicing some new sounds. Her favorites right now are “dat, dat,” “dag, dag,” “nigh, nigh, nigh” (occasionally with a ‘t’ on the end) and my personal favorites “guck’n & duck’n.” She also makes this high-pitched squeal when she is really happy (when she sees the kitties, when she sees Henry or when she is just playing and having a great time). I’m pretty sure there are times when only dogs can hear her. Oh, and I think I’m going deaf.

Some other updates: She sometimes waves “hi” now but has only waved “bye” a couple of times. Her 9^th and 10^th teeth are really giving her a hard time. They are just barely poking through and aren’t coming in as quickly as the others. One of her new favorite activities is banging pots and pans on the kitchen floor. In addition she clears off her toy shelf everyday, making our living room look like a bomb went off. She still loves her books and will sit and listen to like 10 at one sitting. And finally she is excited by anything electronic, the remote control, camera, telephone, computer keyboard, anything she can get her hands on. Maybe she’ll be able to make her own blog posts soon.

Father post

I am the father of a beautiful daughter.  So I knew this would happen some time, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon.  Apparently while I have been away at work, Alison has been seeing a young man by the name of Henry.  This Henry character apparently has a few aliases, or street names, as the kids are saying these days, such as "H-Town", "H-Bomb", and "Big Bank Hank."  Apparently he is quite the cool fellow.

Well, I came home from work early the other day, and this is what I see:

They are all over each other.  Here they are in the heat of the moment (above)... and in the picture below my daughter is trying to check to see if he's got any chest hair.

You can tell by the look on Henry's face that he is horrified.  There is nothing worse than being caught in a situation like this.  "I thought you said your parents got home later," he seems to be saying.  Well, we didn't get home later.  We caught you. 

Yes, the days of innocence are over.  I vow to keep a shorter leash on my daughter, and I promise I will have a discussion with this boy's father. 

Chasing Kitties

From the time Alison became mobile, chasing the kitties has been one of her favorite activities. Sadie (the sassy black one) has yet to realize that Ali can move. Lucy (the tabby) on the other hand is very aware of the fact the Ali can now get to her. She usually waits for the baby to crawl all the way to her and just before the moment of contact gets up and casually struts away – smart kitty.

The other morning Sadie was walking into the living room... of course Alison spotted her and excitedly crawled in her direction. The cat just slowly backed away with a look of disbelief on her face. She backed around the corner and all the way down our long hallway, keeping her eye on the baby the whole time. Ali never got her but she remains optimistic and determined to change her sassy cats.

(below) Alison sees cat:

(below) Alison chasing cat down hallway, cat backing down all the way:

Someday we will have to get a more kid friendly cat that doesn’t mind all the “loving” a young child has to offer. Until then, she has Henry – who I recently described as a cat that doesn’t run away (only because he can’t... YET).

The Poop Heard ‘Round the World

So today Alison had the poop of all poops. It was the biggest poop she has ever had and she’s had some big ones folks. There was a time for a while where she soiled everything she was wearing every time she pooped but she has not done this for quite a while. This poop put all those others to shame. This was the “poop heard ‘round the world.” It was everywhere. We are talking major poops (which by the way is Chris’s military name). 

Before diving in to this messy situation, I ran some bath water and got a bucket for her clothes. If there had been a pair of scissors handy I would have CUT her clothes off... I am still not sure they are worth saving. Yes, it was this bad. So after cleaning her with 20 wipes or so, she was “clean” enough to go to the tub. 

All the while little Henry was being so patient. I put him in the bathroom doorway where he just watched and played in the bouncy chair. Thank goodness for the bouncy chair (my extra set of arms). I am glad to say that neither child witnessed any cursing, however I’m pretty sure the phrase “Oh my lord” was used a few times. Now Alison is clean and sleeping and Henry has gone home for the day. I really should go, I feel like I need a bath.